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Monday, August 11, 2008
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Sara Hickman’s performance featured in podcast
Category: Music
See the August 2008 MichiganFolkLive Podcast by Steven Johnson at http://www.michiganfolklive.com/MichiganFolkLivePodcast14.html
Sara Hickman
This Austin based performer has quietly built herself a huge following over the past 11 years she has been touring, writing and performing. Sara Hickman has toured with Nanci Griffith and Dan Fogelberg, appeared twice on the Tonight Show, and hosted her own VH1 special. Live she is an energetic dynamo as you will discover in this live recording done at Stan Garfield's Northville House concert as she performs "Simply" and "This Too Will Pass".
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Thursday, July 24, 2008
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Next Concert: November 22, 2008 with Pierce Pettis
Category: Music
Please mark your calendars with the date of our next house concert. On Saturday, November 22 at 7:30 p.m., Pierce Pettis will perform at Garfield House Concerts (http://www.myspace.com/stangarfield ).
Pierce Pettis, adored by both critics and public alike, is one of this generation's most masterful songwriters. His music is distinguished by his uncanny ability to capture universals in human experience by drawing on the humor and trials in daily life. Pettis's music can simultaneously pull on our hearts and keep us laughing. The beautiful harmonies, inventive yet subtle percussion, strong guitar, and Pierce's rich vocals are a constant throughout his body of work.
Before releasing his most recent albums (Making Light of It, Everything Matters, State of Grace and his most recent, Great Big World) on Compass Records, Pettis released three critically acclaimed albums on the prestigious Windham Hill/ High Street label. Pierce Pettis has performed in all 48 continental states as well as in Canada and Europe, appeared nine times on American Public Radio's Mountain Stage, been featured on National Public Radio's E-town, Morning Edition and World Cafe ... appeared on VH-1, CBS News, and the Nashville Network.
During his long career Pettis has been a writer at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Alabama, recorded for Fast Folk Musical Magazine in New York, won the prestigious New Folk competition for songwriting at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas, and was a staff songwriter at Polygram and Universal Music Publishing in Nashville. He has received numerous songwriting awards including a 1999 Country Music Award from ASCAP for You Move Me --co-written with Gordon Kennedy and recorded by Garth Brooks on his album, Sevens.
His songs have been covered by a long list of artists, including Joan Baez, Susan Ashton, Garth Brooks, Art Garfunkel, Jonathan Edwards, Tim O'Brien, Dion, Kim & Reggie Harris with Magpie, Heather Heywood, Walt Michael, Claire Lynch, Carrie Newcomer, Tom Prasada-Rao, Paul Reisler & A Thousand Questions, and Dar Williams. His song, "A Mountaineer is Always Free," was included on the CD released by the WV Lottery in 2002.
Pierce currently divides his time between touring, writing and recording in Nashville, and his home in the mountains of North Alabama. With the release of Great Big World (his eighth album), Pierce Pettis rejoined State of Grace producer Garry West in what has been called "a masterpiece" and "his best yet".
Praise for Pierce:
- "One of the more vital and critically acclaimed folk stars of recent years." -- Performing Songwriter Magazine
- "Pierce Pettis doesn't write mere songs, he writes literature...End to end the songwriting is brilliant...Pierce Pettis albums are events in my listening. His writing just gets better all the time and his singing is marvelous, wry and warm..." Sing Out! Magazine
- "A torrent of musical language that speaks to the head and the heart" -- The San Francisco Chronicle
- "Across the entire range of his styles, Pettis constantly reinforces the sensation that he is a thoughtful, sensitive, serious poet, a man who looks deep and ponders long." -- William Michael Smith in Rockzilla World
- "Your collection should include every album he has released as Pierce's music is an integral part of any singer/songwriter's collection." -- WFCF 88.5 FM, St. Augustine, Florida
- "Pettis offers sustenance for mind and spirit, packaged in an amiable, easily digestible musical form." -- Dirty Linen Magazine
To learn more about Pierce and to listen to his music, visit these links:
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Thursday, June 19, 2008
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Last Concert: June 19, 2008 with Sara Hickman
Category: Music
Sara Hickman performed at the Garfield House Concert Series in Northville, Michigan on Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
Sara Hickman grew up in Houston, Texas. Upon graduation from college in 1986, she moved to Dallas and pursued her dream of becoming a recording artist and musical entertainer. It was there that Sara created her first album, Equal Scary People, on her own. It won awards from the Dallas Observer and landed her a deal with Elektra Records. She released her next album in 1990, Shortstop, which she produced with David Kershenbaum (Tracey Chapman, Joe Jackson). After touring, performing on VH1 (as a countdown host and in music videos), and appearances on the Tonight Show, Sara recorded Necessary Angels. At this point, Elektra decided to shelve the project and drop the album. Sara's fans rallied together to help her raise almost $50,000 to buy the album back. It was a moving testimony to the loyal support she had earned from her performances.
During this time in Sara's life, she started to become very involved in community issues. She helped raise more than $43,000 as chair of the Dallas Dance for Life; visited Romania to deliver clothing and supplies to orphans; produced, directed, and shot her first video, Joy, which won first place in the USA Film Festival; and started a side project, the Domestic Science Club, a three-part girl group best described as "the Andrews Sisters meet the Roches." They released two CDs, Domestic Science Club and Three Women. She was actively involved in music and art therapy with ARTS (Artistic and Recreational Therapies), visiting children, AIDS patients, stroke victims, and other hospital patients, using her talents to help the healing process.
In 1994, Sara moved to Austin, Texas. During 1995, she toured the United States with Nanci Griffith and Dan Fogelberg. In 1996, she self-produced Misfits, a collection of "odds and ends" from her musical career. In 1998, Two Kinds of Laughter came to light, produced by Adrian Belew, esteemed guitarist with King Crimson, David Bowie, and Frank Zappa. The year 2000 saw the release of her self-produced Spiritual Appliances. The album explores 13 different emotions and how we deal with them. Her portfolio continued to grow with This Christmas Wish in 2001; the live "official bootleg," Ready to Pop (2002); and her collection of romance songs called Faithful Heart (2003). In 2003, Sara released a 6-hour DVD retrospective of her career to date, I Am Going On a Journey.
In 1997, Sara was profoundly intrigued by a parenting class, and she became a certified instructor. While teaching "Redirecting Children's Behavior," Sara was inspired by the parents who felt they were unsure how to be spontaneous, creative, or musical with their children. This began her series of releases for children (and their parents), beginning in 2000 with Newborn, a CD of songs for parents to sing to their children. She followed with Toddler, a collection of 31 one-minute songs and stories, and Big Kid, for the pre-teen crowd. The reaction has been astounding, and Sara hopes to create music videos for children, as well.
Returning to the world of adult music after five years of creating award-winning music for children, Sara released her Motherlode, a two-disc CD set of 20 songs, in June, 2006. Disc One contains songs of universal woe and quiet lament in conjunction with womankind: from depression, addiction, domestic violence, murder, insomnia, Sara's family ties to President John and Abigail Adams, a mother's hands, and finding faith in one's own song. Disc Two is a woman's heart, bright and sparkling, with undercurrents of frustration and wanting: returning to the joys of love, sex, hope, saints, children, little birds and the garden. This project includes guest artists such as Shawn Colvin, Kelly Willis, Ruthie Foster, Adrian Belew, Jimmy La Fave, and more.
Not only is Sara musically and artistically gifted, she has a heart of gold. She has been awarded the prestigious Humana Women Helping Women award for her generous time and contributions to such organizations as Safe Place, Habitat for Humanity, House the Homeless, the SPCA, the Race for the Cure, and many other animal and human rights organizations. She was also made an honorary member of the National Association of Music Therapy for her music therapy work. She loves to bowl (her high score is a 197), paint murals, garden, occasionally write articles for books and magazines, and hang out with her husband doing absolutely nothing but holding hands.
For more information, see:
Interviews with Sara:
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Friday, October 05, 2007
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October 4 Concert with John Batdorf and Mark Rodney
Category: Music
Our 2007 fall house concert featured John Batdorf with special guest Mark Rodney on Thursday, October 4, 2007.
John opened for the first hour, followed by a break, and then Mark joined John for the final hour. The best of John as a solo artist and also the great songs of Batdorf & Rodney were performed.
About the Artists
I discovered Batdorf & Rodney in 1972 when I was a freshman at Northwestern University. I visited a record store in Evanston and saw an LP with two long-haired guys and an acoustic guitar (see http://lpcovers.tripod.com/batrod1.jpg ). I decided to buy "Off the Shelf" based on the cover, and when I played it on my Garrard turntable and Olson Electronics stereo, I was immediately blown away by the first song, "Oh My Surprise," especially the guitar solo featuring both guitars. I loved the rest of the album, and told all of my music-loving friends about it.
When I transferred to Washington University later that year, I got the duo's second album, "Batdorf & Rodney" and later bought "Life is You," their final studio album. All three records are outstanding, and I have purchased the CD versions of each one.
When John contacted me about playing at my house, and told me that Mark would be joining him, I was excited to be able to host them. It was a memorable show.
On http://www.itsaboutmusic.com/johnbatdorf.html Dean Sciarra wrote:
"It was 1972. I was living in Washington DC and I had 5th row tickets to see Bread at Constitution Hall. Their music had taken over the airwaves in those days. It was a hot ticket. I got there a little early and found these long haired guys setting up the stage - for Bread to perform - or so I thought. When guitars, amps, etc. were ready these 'long hairs' plugged in and started playing music that had a double 'wow-factor' in that it was truly great stuff - no doubt about that - but there was something else that we all picked up on that night - Batdorf & Rodney played great rock songs with extended solos and jump-start licks - on acoustic guitars. There were no electric guitars in sight.
The interplay between John Batdorf & Mark Rodney was jaw-dropping - and the audience responded. We all knew we had seen something very special that night. I've never forgotten the experience - the way they played and the brilliance of their music. That was the first time I'd heard of Batdorf & Rodney. The memory has never left me. I've been a fan for more than 30 years and I always will be."
To listen to John's songs, visit his MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/johnbatdorf and his home page at http://www.johnbatdorfmusic.com/ where you can listen to "Home Again" and other songs. Also visit Mark's MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/markrodney to listen to "Oh My Surprise," "Can You See Him," "Poor Man's Dream," and "Where Were You and I."
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Wednesday, June 13, 2007
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June 12, 2007 Concert: David Garfield
Category: Music
My brother, David Garfield, performed on Tuesday, June 12, 2007.
To listen to four of David's songs, see his MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/davidgarfieldandthecats , bio at http://www.davidgarfield.com/about_biography.php , a timeline at http://www.davidgarfield.com/about_timeline.php and interviews at http://www.davidgarfield.com/interview_davidgarfield_2005.php and http://www.writingaffairs.com/mizar5/dg.html . Here is additional background from his web site at http://www.creatchy.com/ .
David Garfield's mission statement is "I make music." And "make music" he does, as a world-renowned keyboard artist, producer, and composer. Be it jazz, rock, funk, or world beat - he is the creative force behind the production of many internationally acclaimed recordings. Whether working as a Musical Director for other artists or Performing or Recording with one of his own bands, David (known to some as "Creatchy") is constantly and consistently involved in creating music for the listening enjoyment and pleasure of music lovers everywhere.
"Giving Back" is Garfield's most current Creatchy Records release, which once again features world-class musicians and artists. Recorded in both Los Angeles and New York, these 13 hot new tracks reflect a fresh direction for his West Coast Sound. Enjoying regular air-play in the U.S., Japan, Europe, and Australia, the response to "Giving Back" has been overwhelming and its popularity with listeners continues to grow David's international fan base.
The extraordinary release Tribute to Jeff, a 80 member all-star memorial to famed Grammy winning drummer Jeff Porcaro, marks David Garfield's solo debut under his own name. The album's fascinating breadth of styles, arrangements and top name band member contributions are a fitting culmination and reflection of Garfield's three decade plus career-span notable for his amazing genre-to-genre diversity, all-star collaborations and success as a lead performer, composer, arranger and musical director for some of popular music's leading artists.
Garfield has one of those who's who, what's what resumes that raises the question, what HASN'T he done? Over the span of his career, he's scored and recorded for films ("Annie," "Always" with J.D. Souther), Television ("Fame" and its five accompanying "Kids from Fame" recordings), and commercials (Coca Cola, McDonald's, Seven Up, Mitsubishi). He's produced over 50 albums and appeared on over 100, with such artists as Cher, Boz Scaggs, Larry Carlton, Spinal Tap, The Manhattan Transfer, Keiko Matsui, The Rippingtons, and Smokey Robinson; performed with Earl Klugh, Michael McDonald, Nancy Wilson, Oleta Adams, Brenda Russell, Dianne Reeves, and Michael Bolton and was musical director for George Benson (from 1986-90, 2000-2004); appeared on The Tonight Show, Arsenio Hall, Solid Gold, Jimmy Kimmel, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Soul Train; and has composed and recorded hundreds of original compositions.
As if that array of challenges weren't enough to satisfy his creative urges, Garfield has led several popular rock / jazz / funk / world beat fusion bands in Los Angeles since his arrival in the mid-70s. The first of these was Karizma, which he formed with top session players Carlos Vega, Lenny Castro, Mike Landau and Jimmy Johnson. Karizma played sold out club dates in L.A. for years and released six albums to great success in Japan, Australia, and throughout Europe. There have been many incarnations of the band over the years. One version which was David with Vinnie Colaiuta, Neil Stubenhaus, and Michael Landau was recorded live at the Modern Drummer Festival 2000 and is available as a DVD. This is currently the only publicly available footage of the band. Some of the highlights for Karizma over the years have been the release of their first CD in 1983 in Japan, appearance at Sadao Watanabe's Bravas Club in 1986 with Jeff Lorber and the Yellowjackets, use of their first single "Say You Will" for the Nissan Sylvia car campaign, two European tours in 2000 and 30th Anniversary tour of Japan in 2005.
Garfield and longtime friend / collaborator, percussionist Lenny Castro, formed Los Lobotomys in 1985 along with Toto members Jeff Porcaro and Steve Lukather, bassist Nathan East, and reedman Brandon Fields. This band has also met with great success in L.A. and abroad. In 1994, Los Lobotomys released its second CD "The Candyman." The project featured Fee Waybill from the Tubes and drummer Simon Phillips (The Who / Jeff Beck) and the band embarked on a sell out tour of Europe and Japan, sharing stages with Peter Gabriel, Aerosmith, and others.
As is typical of his musical resume, Garfield has worked on a number of unique projects over the past few years, both at home, in Europe and Japan. The Los Lobotomys tour led to a scoring assignment on the German TV show "Balko", and he has produced various Japanese artists in addition to working with top Italian singing star Eros Ramazzotti. Garfield has also performed at Keyboard Magazine's 20th Anniversary Concert at the NAMM show alongside Bruce Hornsby and Joe Zawinul; played at the Modern Drummer magazine's anniversary concert with Steve Ferrone; sat in with Isaac Hayes and The Blues Brothers at a House of Blues benefit concert; released two instructional videos on how to play rock and roll keyboards and released a book, Pop and Rock Keyboards. He's also written and / or recorded background music for the syndicated TV shows "Sentinel," "Gideon's Crossing," "Good Day L.A.," and the trailer for the Billy Crystal - Robin Williams comedy "Father's Day." In between these gigs, he was always writing, recording, and performing his own music.
At first glance, all of these diverse projects may seem to have little in common with his earliest gigs touring and recording with Willie Bobo, Freddie Hubbard and Tom Scott. But in his 40's, the Chicago born, New York and St. Louis bred Garfield can summarize his entire, admittedly all encompassing, career in three simple words: "I make music. That's my mission statement. Things developed slowly over time, till I was playing every different kind of music in unique situations. Always going against the grain, doing music that may not have been the in thing at the time but hanging around until it became popular. It all goes back to when I was seven years old, first learning the piano," he adds. "There seemed like a great spiritual connection there, and I felt compelled to keep playing. I started my life playing rock, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk and started meeting more and more jazz musicians in St. Louis which made jazz a logical second love for me. It's been an incredible education."
Currently living in the Los Angeles area, David always strives to expand his talents while pursuing a wide range of activities whether it be performing with his own bands, as a guest player with other popular artists, or producing artists / groups such as Oleta Adams, Flora Purim, and Los Lobotomys. In addition, he writes and produces his own music and is looking forward to several new Creatchy Records projects to be released in the coming year. Due to Garfield's diverse musical background and versatility, he has earned the respect of both his peers and critics alike and is one of the most in-demand musicians in the world today.
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Thursday, October 19, 2006
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October 2006 Concert: Buddy Mondlock
Category: Music
On October 19, 2006, our house concert featured Buddy Mondlock. A house concert is a rare opportunity to hear performers in an intimate setting, in this case, our living room, and get to meet and talk to them.
To listen to four of Buddy's songs, visit his MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/buddymondlock . Here is additional background.
Buddy Mondlock writes songs. He does it so well that some great songwriters have recorded his songs on their own albums. Garth Brooks, Guy Clark, Nanci Griffith, and Janis Ian, to name just a few. But there's nothing like hearing the guy who wrote 'em sing 'em. He's not going to pin your ears back with those songs. He's going to draw you into his world. Where a single snowflake follows the trajectory of a relationship, where you get your pocket picked by a Roman cat, where morning tumbles into noon and where dreams that don't come true still count. And it can all be happening in a little folk club or on a stage by a grassy hill or in someone's living room.
He is best known for his song "The Kid," also recorded by:
Maura O'Connell recorded "Poetic Justice" by Buddy Mondlock and Tom Kimmel http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000062S/
For more information, see:
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Monday, August 20, 2007
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Bill Ives Blog Entries
Category: Food and Restaurants
My colleague, Bill Ives, writes about knowledge management (our profession) during the week, and about food and music on the weekends (two of our other passions).
On June 3, 2006 his blog featured an entry about my house concert series. See
http://billives.typepad.com/portals_and_km/2006/06/garfield_house_.html for details.
On June 10, 2006 his blog featured an entry about Detroit restaurants. See
http://billives.typepad.com/portals_and_km/2006/06/detroit_restaur.html for details.
On June 17, 2006 his blog featured an entry about St. Louis restaurants. See
http://billives.typepad.com/portals_and_km/2006/06/st_louis_restau.html for details.
On July 1, 2006 his blog featured an entry about Ann Arbor, Michigan restaurants. See http://billives.typepad.com/portals_and_km/2006/07/ann_arbor_michi.html for details.
On July 15, 2006 his blog featured an entry about Northern Michigan restaurants. See http://billives.typepad.com/portals_and_km/2006/07/northern_michig.html for details.
On July 16, 2006 his blog featured an entry about Western Michigan restaurants. See http://billives.typepad.com/portals_and_km/2006/07/western_michiga.html for details.
On September 1, 2007 his blog featured an entry about finetune. See http://billives.typepad.com/portals_and_km/2007/09/finetune-great-.html for details.
On May 3, 2008 his blog featured an entry about Omaha, Nebraska restaurants. See http://billives.typepad.com/portals_and_km/2008/05/omaha-nebraska.html for details.
On May 24, 2008 his blog featured an entry about Skyline Chili. See http://billives.typepad.com/portals_and_km/2008/05/steve-carters-d.html for details.
On June 8, 2008 his blog featured an entry about Steve Carter's Taste of Motown. See http://billives.typepad.com/portals_and_km/2008/06/steve-carters-t.html for details.
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Sunday, June 04, 2006
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Sunday, March 02, 2008
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Saturday, March 01, 2008
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